


Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Rewrite

by edensreadingcorner



Series: Harry Potter: Rewritten [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Character Interpretation, Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Canon Rewrite, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Harry Potter Rewrite, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:27:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26419480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edensreadingcorner/pseuds/edensreadingcorner
Summary: I decided that I wanted to do a rewrite of the whole Harry Potter series and add proper diversity and give characters the arcs that they deserve while keeping the main plot points and storyline. I'm going to update the tags with every chapter.-This story is being beta read by my friend! You can also find it on Wattpad under the same title and username.I will be updating this story again soon, but I decided to reread the books before doing so, thank you for your patience :)
Series: Harry Potter: Rewritten [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1953481
Kudos: 9





	1. A Not So Normal Day

**Author's Note:**

> You might notice that the first chapter is quite similar to the original chapter, that is because we haven't yet gotten to the parts I plan to change.

The night was cool and cloudy in Godric's Hollow the night of Halloween in 1981. Children around the world were celebrating it and stuffing themselves full of candy and treats. Through the light rain, a strange man was seen walking through the gate and forcing his way into the two-story, stone cottage. The first-floor windows flashed with green light and shortly after, another flash of the same color appeared in the windows of the second floor. There was a third green flash, but unlike the others, this one resulted in the decimation of a part of the second floor. Not much else is known about what happened in the stone cottage that night.

The next morning, Vernon Dursley woke up in his bed at number four, Privet Drive, oblivious to what had happened the night before. As far as he was concerned, the strange man and the family in the cottage were from a completely different world apart from his own. He and his wife, Petunia Dursley, refused to partake in anything nonsensical or strange after all. They were the most normal family you would ever meet or think of. 

For this reason, they avoided the Potters. Lily Potter was Petunia's sister, but everything she and her husband James were involved in was an affront to the Dursleys. They didn't want the Potters to get their son, Dudley, involved in anything odd and they abhorred the idea of people finding out that any part of their family could be "not normal." They had all they wanted and needed and had no need for a relationship with Petunia's sister and brother-in-law. 

On what was supposed to be just another normal day, Petunia and Vernon began getting ready. Vernon for his job as the director of a drill-making company called Grunnings, and Petunia for her job of secretly spying on all of her neighbors for things to gossip about. The heavyset man glanced over at his wife as she reached up to wrap a necklace of pearls around her long neck which went with her before he turned back to the mirror to examine his plain suit and plain tie. As they ate, their toddler son had yet another tantrum and amidst trying to calm him down, they remained oblivious to the owls flying through their neighborhood.

When Vernon stepped outside with his briefcase, he took a moment to stare into the cloudy, gray sky before exhaling and opening the door to the driver's seat. During this time, he happened to notice a cat sitting atop a map. The cat appeared to examine the map before looking up at the street sign as if it were double-checking that it was in the right place. It took a moment for the sight to register in Vernon's mind before he turned back around to the cat. It was now staring at him intensely, though there was no map anymore. Vernon rubbed his eyes, not sure what to think, but when he opened his eyes again, there still was no map. Now though, the cat had its head tilted, still maintaining eye contact as if it were challenging him and what he believed was true. He ultimately chose to just ignore the situation and got in his car to go to work. 

As Vernon sat in what was supposed to be the same traffic he sat in every day, he came to the horrifying realization that today was anything but normal. He couldn't believe his eyes as he watched people wearing _cloaks_ milling about on the sidewalks. What kind of weird fashion craze was going on at the moment? He wanted to believe that it was just a teenage fashion trend until he saw grown adults in those same cloaks. The big mustache above his mouth twitched in disgust as he attempted to rein in his anger at these decidedly _not_ normal people.

Once more, when he got to work, his one-track mind was back on the drills from his work and the strange happenings of the day were forgotten. By lunchtime though, he was forced to be reminded of these things again when he came across another group of cloaked individuals in the bakery he had entered to get his lunch. He did his best to avoid them as he grabbed his lunch but on his way back out of the bakery, he heard a snatch of their conversation and what sounded like "Harry Potter." Wasn't that the name of his nephew? He froze in fear. He was torn between asking them questions and hurrying back to work. The latter ended up winning the battle in his head.

On his way back to work, he tried convincing himself that whatever they were talking about was completely unrelated to his nephew, but for the first time that day, he found himself unable to focus on his work. 

On his way back to his car, he bumped into yet another man in a cloak. This man appeared to be in such a great mood and completely unbothered about almost getting knocked over. Vernon couldn't understand why this man was so happy. Before he could turn and continue to his car the small man wrapped his arms around Vernon and hugged him, before pulling back and smiling ear-to-ear. 

"Celebrate, dear sir," the small man said. "You-Know-Who is finally gone! It should be a happy day even for you Muggles!" He then walked away, leaving Vernon awkwardly standing in his spot. He did not appreciate being hugged by someone he didn't know. And what in the world was a Muggle? Once the shock wore off, he hurried even quicker to get to his car. After the crazy day he'd had, all he wanted was to get back home. 

When he arrived home, he noticed that the cat from earlier was still there but now it sat on his garden wall. Walking over to the wall, he attempted to shoo off the cat, but its brow furrowed and it gave him a stern glare. For a second, all he could do was stare at the cat and blink slowly before he shook his head, sighed, and made his way into number four, Privet Drive. Luckily, he could count on dinner to be normal.

Petunia recounted the gossip she had picked up from spying on their neighbors as usual and told him about what Dudley had learned that day. Together, they put Dudley to bed before sitting down to watch the evening news.

"For all you bird lovers out there, this report is for you," began the news reporter. "Bird-watchers across England have observed an odd phenomenon today. Though owls are nocturnal and rarely come out during the day, hundreds of owls have been seen flying everywhere all day. We reached out to some experts but they cannot explain why all these owls have decided to change their sleep schedules. Strange. Now let's go over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Does it look like it's going to rain tonight, Jim?"

"Well, Ted, we can't be too sure about that. It appears that the owls are not the only strange sightings that people have seen. We have had viewers phoning in from places as far apart as Dundee, Kent, and Yorkshire saying that instead of a downpour of rain, they saw a downpour of shooting stars. Bonfire Night is not until next week, but maybe people were celebrating it early. For now, though, it does seem that it will rain." 

Once again, Vernon found himself frozen in shock. What if all these things were connected? He turned to Petunia and awkwardly tried to ask about her sister, but the moment he mentioned her sister, her countenance completely changed. She fixed him with a sharp looked and asked him "Why?"

"Well, you know with all these things going on..." Vernon forced out. "Shooting stars instead of rain... Owls everywhere... You know, for some reason there were lots of people wearing funny outfits and cloaks..."

" _And what about it?_ " Petunia asked stiffly.

"Well... You see... I thought it might have to do with _her people_ ," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper at the end.

Petunia was unresponsive, choosing instead to focus her attention on the tea she was sipping. Vernon prompted her again, this time asking for the name of their nephew.

"Harry," she said, her nose wrinkling in distaste.

It was late and they needed to go to bed, so he decided to stop trying to push her on this topic. As they walked up the stairs to their bedroom, Vernon spotted the cat from earlier still sitting on the garden wall. What could it possibly be waiting for? Did this have to do with the Potters again?

They got into bed, Petunia falling asleep quickly while Vernon tossed and turned. Little did they know how much their lives would change in the morning.

As Vernon finally fell asleep, the cat continued sitting on the garden wall, staring down at the end of the street. As midnight rolled around, the cat finally began to move.

Out of nowhere, a man in a long, purple cloak seemed to appear or materialize. The cat's tail swayed once.

The man clearly did not belong in Privet Drive, one look at him showed how not-normal he was. His sparkling, blue eyes were accented by the silver of his waist-length hair and beard, and the half-moon spectacles perched atop his crooked, long nose. Albus Dumbledore either didn't realize or simply did not care that he was out of place and unwelcome in this nice, normal neighborhood.

He dug through his various pockets until he found what looked like a cigarette lighter. As he pulled it out, he noticed the cat watching him. He nodded his head at it and his lips quirked up in a smile. He held up the Put-Outer and clicked it, twelve times for each street lamp. At each click, one of the lights from the street lamp would fly into the Put-Outer. Without the street lamps, Dumbledore and the cat would be invisible to anyone who tried to peek out of their windows. He dropped the Put-Outer into his pocket before making his way to where the cat sat. The only sound was the clicking of the high-heeled boots he wore beneath his cloak.

"What a lovely surprise, Professor McGonagall," Dumbledore addressed the woman who stood where the cat had just been.

Everything about her was serious and severe. Her black hair was pulled tightly into a bun. It contrasted nicely with the green of her emerald robes. She wore square glasses that were reminiscent of the markings around the cat's eyes.

"How long have you been here?" Dumbledore asked her.

"All day."

"All day? My dear Professor, you should have celebrated! You have no idea how many parties and feasts I have been to today!"

Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes and sniffed. "Oh I know about the celebrations, and so do most of the Muggles. They're not so stupid that they didn't notice that something was going on. Shooting stars, flocks of owls, and more."

"Yes, but these last eleven years have been difficult and there has been almost nothing to celebrate."

"Of course I understand that but we should still be sensible enough without being careless enough to walk around in broad daylight in their cloaks and not caring about who overhears." She shot a look at Dumbledore. "Anyways, is it true that he's really gone? After all this time?"

"Yes, it appears that that is the case," said Dumbledore, pulling out a bag of lemon sherbet candy before holding it out in Professor McGonagall's direction.

She glanced at the bag before looking right back up at him.

"Want one?"

" _No._ "

"So if You-Know-Who really is gone–" she began.

"Oh come on Professor, surely you can call him by his name; it's _Voldemort_ , not You-Know-Who."

"Alas, names have power, and you are the only one who doesn't fear him. Rather, he fears you and only you."

"Oh, how you flatter me." A small smile graced Dumbledore's lips.

Professor McGonagall looked at him before hesitantly bringing up the rumors she'd overheard. She'd been anxious about the rumors all day and they were gnawing at her from the inside. "Do you know what it is that everyone is saying? About what stopped him and made him disappear?"

Dumbledore knew what rumors she was referring to and the real reason for why she had been waiting at number four, Privet Drive all day. He knew she would not believe it until she heard it from him, but he refrained from responding choosing instead to pull out another lemon sherbet.

Professor McGonagall pushed forward. "People are saying that he went to Godric's Hollow and showed up at the Potters' house. It's not true, is it?" She cried out. "The rumor that-that James and Lily a-are d-dead?" Her voice thick with unshed tears.

Instead of answering, Dumbledore simply bowed his head and she gasped.

"No... _No_... Oh, Albus... They can't-They can't be... I didn't want to believe it, but..." Her voice trailed off. Two students who she had watched grow up. Two students that she had cared for dearly. Gone.

Dumbledore patted her shoulder as a way to try and comfort her. "I know..."

"That's not the only thing they're saying," she forced herself to continue though her voice wavered. "The rumors say that Voldemort tried to kill their son, Harry, too. They say that somehow his powers backfired and that he wasn't able to kill Harry Potter and it's why Voldemort is gone now.

She watched Dumbledore as he nodded.

Professor McGonagall was incredulous. "After everything? After all the people he has killed, things he has done, he was unable to kill a 15-month-old toddler. How? How in heaven did Harry survive?"

"We may never know," came Dumbledore's response."

Dumbledore sniffled as Professor McGonagall pulled a lace handkerchief out of one of her pockets to dab at her eyes. Dumbledore then took an old, golden watch out of his pockets and looked at it. Instead of numbers, it had planets moving all around the edge and it had an extra 10 hands. Dumbledore put it back in his pocket before turning to McGonagall and saying, "Hagrid is late. It was he who told you that this was where I'd be, I'm guessing?"

Professor McGonagall nodded. "And why exactly _are_ you here?"

"This is the only family Harry has left. They're his aunt and uncle. I'm bringing him to them."

Professor McGonagall jumped up in surprise. "You can't, Dumbledore. Not this family. I've spent all day watching them. They are so very different from us, they will never understand. They hardly know how to handle one child as it is. I saw him kicking his mother and screaming so he could get sweets! Harry Potter living here? No way."

"I'm sure his aunt and uncle will explain everything once he is old enough. See, I wrote a letter. It's the best place for him to stay."

"A letter?! This cannot be explained in a letter and this family could not understand him! Not to mention that everyone in our world will know exactly who Harry is. And what if they don't end up explaining things to him?"

"It's better for him to grow up away from all the fame before he is old enough to handle it."

While Professor McGonagall could agree with this point, she still did not think that growing up in this family would help Harry in any way. Still, she decided to change the subject as she knew she wouldn't be able to change Dumbledore's mind. "How exactly is the boy going to get here?"

Before Dumbledore could respond, a loud, roaring sound broke through the silence that surrounded them. They both tried looking around for the source as the roar grew louder until it was coming from right above them. As they looked up, they were able to see a humongous motorbike and, an even bigger man astride it. The man and the motorbike landed right in front of them.

The man was around five times as wide as the average man and about two times as tall. He was huge and had a lot of wild and bushy hair. His beard was also wild and bushy. In his arms was a bundle of blankets.

"Hagrid! There you are." Dumbledore was relieved. "Whose bike is that?"

"Borrowed it from the young Sirius Black, sir. I’ve got the baby, sir."

"You didn’t have any problems?"

"No, sir. When I made it there, the house was almost destroyed, but I managed to get him out of it before the Muggles came around. He fell asleep on the ride."

Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore leaned over to look at the baby boy. On his forehead there lay an odd scar in the shape of a lightning bolt. Above it was his jet-black hair.

"That’s where the spell hit," Dumbledore informed them. "He’ll have that scar forever. Now, Hagrid. Give him to me, let’s get this over with."

Before giving little Harry to Dumbledore, Hagrid brought him up to his face and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Once Harry was in Dumbledore’s arms though, Hagrid began sobbing. McGonagall tried shushing him, afraid of waking up the residents of the neighborhood.

"I’m s-sorry," Hagrid said, between wracking sobs. "But with Lily an’ James d-dead, an’ Harry off ter live with Muggles..."

"I get it, but you need to collect yourself before you wake up any Muggles and we get found out," she said gently.

Dumbledore gently placed Harry on the doorstep with the letter before rejoining Hagrid and Professor McGonagall. For a few minutes, none of them moved. They stood there, doing their best not to cry at this sad occasion.

"Well, that’s it. It’s time to go and celebrate," said Dumbledore.

"I’d best return the bike to Sirius. G’night." Hagrid wiped his tears before jumping on the bike and flying off.

Dumbledore nodded at Professor McGonagall. "I’ll be seeing you soon." Professor McGonagall just blew her nose.

Dumbledore turned away and walked to the edge of the street from where he had arrived. He pulled the Put-Outer back out and returned all the lights to the street lamps. They illuminated the tabby cat as she walked away. Dumbledore gave one last look at little Harry Potter before disappearing.

The next morning, Harry was woken up by Petunia’s scream when she found a baby lying out in front of the door. Vernon came quickly to see why exactly his wife had screamed so loud. From that day on, no matter how normal they tried to remain, their lives had changed forever.


	2. Odd Happenings

It had been a few years since the fateful Halloween night where Harry was deposited on the Dursley's porch. Somehow, Privet Drive had remained mostly the same. At dawn, the sun began to rise over the identical houses with their perfect lawns. It lit up the unchanged living room in Number Four Privet Drive. The only change was the photographs on the mantle above the fireplace. There was one of Harry's pudgy, blond cousin on a bike, one of Vernon and Dudley together, and one of Vernon with Petunia. From the outside, you would think that these three were the only ones who lived there.

The fourth person who lived there was little Harry who occupied the cupboard beneath the stairs. 

The Dursleys preferred it when Harry could stay out of sight and out of mind. Sometimes odd and unexplainable things seemed to happen around Harry. Harry couldn't control them, but they still only served to irritate and anger the Dursleys. 

One time, it happened when Aunt Petunia got upset with Harry's hair was and decided to give him a haircut herself. She left some hair in the front to cover up his scare but the rest of his head was nearly bald. Harry laid awake that night in horror, fearful of how people would make fun of him at school the next morning. When he woke up, his hair was back to normal. 

Another time, Harry was given an ugly hand-me-down sweater that used to be Dudley's. He refused to wear it, however, Aunt Petunia insisted and she tried to force it on him. Each time she did, somehow the shirt would shrink until it was so small it could fit a stuffed animal.

Yet another time, Dudley's gang had been chasing after Harry and had cornered him by the school kitchens when suddenly Harry found himself on top of the school kitchens' chimney. 

Each time something like this would happen, the Dursleys would make sure to punish Harry, typically by locking him in the cupboard.

Up until Harry was seven years old, the only places he had ever been to outside of Number Four Privet Drive were school and Mrs. Figg, a neighbor. This summer, however, had different plans for Harry. The Dursleys had decided to go on a small vacation to Wiltshire. The plan originally was to bring some of Dudley's closest friends in his gang and leave Harry behind with Mrs. Figg. The day before they left though, one of Mrs. Figg's cats had had an emergency and now she wasn't going to be able to watch over Harry while the Dursleys were away. The Dursleys begrudgingly decided to bring Harry with him.

The drive to Wiltshire was fascinating to Harry. Having not been many places, he was unused to all the sights there were to see on the way. He had his face pressed up against the window as the nature scenes passed by.

When they got there, it didn't take long for Dudley to round up his gang and go after Harry, only it wasn't just his gang. As it turns out, Dudley had already had some friends near where they were staying in Wiltshire from a previous vacation, and they joined Dudley's gang as they chased after Harry. The hotel they were staying at was surrounded by woods, and Harry figured that his safest bet was to run into them as they could provide some hiding spots. For as long as he heard Dudley and his friends behind him, Harry kept running. He wasn't sure how long he ran, only that it felt like he had been running since forever. 

In a clearing he came upon, Harry found a big boulder off to the side. Not quite hearing footsteps following him anymore, Harry ran and ducked behind it. He sat there as he attempted to catch his breath and hoped that the boulder would provide enough cover for him to stop running. His relief was shortlived. Laughter rang out from the other side of the boulder, and when Harry looked up, he was surrounded. Dudley came around to the side of the boulder Harry was on, still laughing, his wide face red with the effort it had taken him to go after Harry. Dudley wasn't the type for sports, but if it involved chasing Harry, he didn't mind running.

The heartbeat in Harry's chest began to speed up even more as the boys closed in on him when suddenly he found himself up in a tree overlooking another clearing about 100 meters away from where Dudley and his boys were. From Harry's newfound vantage point, he could see them, but they couldn't see him. He tried to keep himself as still as possible, hoping against all hope that they would not happen to look up and find him perched on a branch. They scattered as they searched, and Harry's heart rate slowed down once more in relief.

More time had passed and Harry thought that it would be safe for him to get down and return to the hotel by now, but soon realized that there didn't seem to be a way down. As Harry continued to search for a way to get down, he noticed a boy about Harry's age make his way into the clearing. Harry didn't recall having ever seen someone that pale. Even his hair was a very pale blond. Then, the boy looked up and caught sight of Harry.

"Who in the world are you and what are you doing on our land?" the boy called out snobbishly, his grey eyes narrowing. Harry startled and found himself crashing to the ground. Harry muttered out an apology and was trying to brush off the dirt that had gotten on his clothes, before looking around and trying to remember which direction the hotel had been. 

Suddenly, the boy froze, his eyes widening as they latched onto the lightning bolt scar on Harry's forehead. "You're Harry Potter," he whispered, eyes still wide as they looked at Harry in a new light. Harry immediately shrank in on himself. How did this kid know who he was?

"You're one of Dudley's friends, aren't you," he said.

The boy in front of him blinked in confusion. "Do I look like I know a Dudley? What kind of name even is Dudley? Who would name their child that?" he said, his mouth twisting in a frown. Harry couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of him. The boy seemed pleased when he heard Harry's laugh. "I'm Draco, by the way. Draco Malfoy," the boy said before leaning in a little bit to excitedly add: "Draco means Dragon! I just learned that last week."

"I wish my name meant something cool like that," Harry said, frowning a bit. "My name is just Harry Potter, it's boring."

"What do you mean boring? You're the _Harry Potter_." Harry still wasn't sure how Draco knew his name, much less why he said it with such admiration, but he pushed the thought off to the side. 

The two boys ended up sitting down on the ground, next to each other and started to talk. Harry had never had any friends before. The only people he knew his age were from school and they were either in Dudley's gang or afraid of what Dudley and his gang would do to them if they tried to befriend Harry. As the two boys talked about some of the most seemingly random things, they both came to realize that this was the closest they had ever come to having a friend. Neither had ever been able to have a real conversation with someone their own age.

After his eyes kept drifting to the scar on Harry's forehead, Draco eventually had to ask him about it. "What do you remember about the night you got the scar?" Draco, of course, knew what had happened that night, as did everyone in the wizarding world, but he wondered if Harry had had any memories of that night since he had been a baby then.

"Well," Harry said, subconsciously reaching up and rubbing the scar. "I've been told that I got it in the car crash that killed my parents, but my earliest memory which I think is from the car crash is of a weird green light."

"A car crash?!" Draco said in disbelief. 

"Yeah."

"Hmmm." It couldn't be that Harry didn't know anything about their world, right? "What do you think of wizards and witches?"

"You mean like in books?" Draco squinted his eyes at Harry before slowly nodding. "I know some people at my grade school have read books about magic stuff, but Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia never let me. Anything with any type of imagination to them is outrageous." Harry rolled his eyes. "If they ever caught me reading anything like that, they would probably keep me locked in the cupboard for months."

"Cupboard? What do you mean cupboard?" 

"Um, well I pretty much live in the cupboard under the staircase."

At that Draco's eyes grew wide. "But you're _Harry Potter_!"

Harry wondered once more about the emphasis that Draco kept putting on his name. "Why do you say my name like that? And how did you know who I was when we first met?"

Draco hesitated, unsure what to say. "Well, you're famous in our world."

"Famous, what do you mean famous?"

"Everyone knows your name and how you have a lightning bolt scar on your forehead. The day your parents and the Dark Lord died is like a national holiday for us."

"Everyone? Dark Lord? What are you even talking about? You're making fun of me, aren't you? I was right from the beginning. Dudley must have put you up to this." Harry rose swiftly, brushing off the dirt that was stuck to the seat of his pants before striding off to where he guessed the hotel was. Draco tried calling after him, denying any relation with Dudley, but Harry ignored him. He was used to people mocking him and besides, it was getting late as the sun began to set. When Draco tried to catch up with him, Harry broke into a run, not stopping until he was at the hotel.

Neither boy would remember much about that day in the future. They had only spent a few, short hours together and it hadn't ended well, but they would both remember that feeling of friendship that they had both been craving for so long. For Harry, that feeling was all he would remember of that day. For Draco, he would remember that feeling and meeting Harry Potter, but he eventually convinced himself that it was nothing but a dream. After all, why would Harry Potter himself ever wind up in the woods around Malfoy Manor?

–––––––––––––––

A few more years had passed, and now it was summer again, and Harry was ten years old. Just like for the Wiltshire trip, Mrs. Figg was going to be unable to take Harry. This time, it was because she had broken her leg. Once more, the Dursleys had to begrudgingly bring Harry to the zoo with them for Dudley's birthday. Harry was willing to put up with Dudley and his friend for a chance to see animals and be out of the house again. Up until now, Wiltshire remained the only place outside of Mrs. Figg's and school that he had been to. 

It was a Saturday, which meant that the zoo was crowded. This by itself is already bad enough, but on top of that, it was also very hot outside. After lunch, they made the group made their way to the cool reptile house. It was a relief to be out of the heat. 

Harry watched Dudley and his friend sidle up to the habitat of the biggest snake in the reptile house, a boa constrictor from Brazil, before Dudley began to tap the glass, ignoring the sign that clearly stated not to tap the glass. He kept complaining though that the snake wasn't moving. Dudley began trying to knock the glass even harder, but nothing worked. As a last resort, Dudley called out for his dad's help, but his dad wasn't able to make it move either. As they walked away, Harry moved a bit closer to the glass.

As if sensing him, the snake lifted its head and looked right at Harry. It then cocked its head towards Vernon and Dudley who were at the habitat next to this snake's and rolled its eyes. Harry felt as if the snake was trying to tell him that that happens all the time. Harry asked if it was annoying, and to Harry's surprise, the snake started nodding. Like, actually nodding. Harry started asking about what Brazil was like when he heard a shout behind him.

"DAD! HARRY'S TALKING TO THE SNAKE!"

Vernon immediately came over, furious. "Boy, what do you think you're doing?" he said, accusatorily. Harry stammered, trying to come up with an excuse, as Uncle Vernon began dragging Harry away by his ears. Then suddenly, Dudley and his friend who had been peering at the boa constrictor again and leaning against the glass of its enclosure managed to fall into the habitat as the glass disappeared. The boa constrictor slithered out and came to a stop in front of Uncle Vernon and Harry, hissing at Uncle Vernon until he had let go of Harry before it continued on its way out of the reptile house amidst the screams of the zoo visitors who were running around in fear. 

Right before it left though, Harry could have sworn that he heard it say "Thankssss, to Brazil I go."

The keeper of the reptile house and the zoo director both were lost as to how the glass could have possibly disappeared from the exhibit. The zoo director personally apologized to them over and over and over again. As they made their way back to the car, Dudley and his friend began talking about the snake as if it had almost killed them, though it had done nothing to them. When they got home, Dudley's friend turned to Harry and said "You said something to the snake didn't you?"

When Dudley's friend left, Harry was thrown into the cupboard by Uncle Vernon who was beyond furious and told he wouldn't have any meals.

Hours later, the house was silent, but Harry wasn't sure if they were all asleep yet or not. If he wanted to be able to eat anything, he would have to wait until they were all sound asleep. 

He lay in the dark room, his stomach grumbling, thinking about his parents. He had never been told anything about them and Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had forbidden him from asking them any questions. He didn't even know what they looked like.

Harry used to dream that maybe one day, some long lost relatives might come and take him away from the Dursleys. It seemed though that his only family was the Dursleys. Occasionally though, it seemed that random people in the street knew him. They were always odd. A small man in a purple top hat once bowed to Harry. When Aunt Petunia saw that, she didn't hesitate to drag Harry out of the shop. Another time, an old lady dressed head to toe in green waved at him as she boarded a bus. Just the other day, a bald man in a floor-length purple coat came up to him in the street to shake his hand. Every time Harry tried to take another look at them though, they were always gone. Briefly, Harry remembered a boy in Wiltshire and his name whispered in admiration. His thoughts were broken up by his stomach as it growled again.


End file.
